S and T-class destroyer


The S and T class was a class of sixteen destroyers of the Royal Navy launched in 1942-1943. They were built as two flotillas, known as the 5th and 6th Emergency Flotilla, and they served as fleet and convoy escorts in World War II.

Design features

The S class introduced the CP Mark XXII mounting for the QF Mark IX 4.7 in guns. This new mounting had a shield with a sharply raked front, to allow increased elevation, contrasting noticeably with the vertical front of the previous CP Mark XVIII, and easily differentiated the S class onwards from their immediate predecessors. Savage was the exception in this respect, being fitted with four 4.5 in guns; a twin mounting forward and two singles aft. These ships used the Fuze Keeping Clock HA Fire Control Computer.
The quadruple mounting Mark VII for the QF 2-pounder pom-poms was replaced by the twin mounting Mark IV for the 40 mm Bofors gun. Known as the "Hazemeyer", this advanced mounting was tri-axially stabilised in order that a target could be kept in the sights on the pitching deck of a destroyer and was fitted with an analog fire control computer and Radar Type 282, a metric range-finding set. The Hazemeyer design had been brought to Britain by the Dutch minelayer Willem van der Zaan that had escaped from the German occupation in May 1940.
The T class also was the first class to replace pole or tripod forecasts with lattice masts, which continued in subsequent War Emergency Flotillas.

Ships in class

S class

Publications

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